Competitive strategy skirmish game for all skill levels | Classic fantasy | 1-4 players | 45 min/player
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Production Updates
about 2 months ago
– Fri, Jul 26, 2024 at 12:46:54 AM
Hello folks, we're back with a handful of production updates.
Miniature Production Updates
The miniature production is steadily progressing: we're at 10% completion. Our Spanish provider, Alemany Miniatures have sent us the full – albeit sample – set of miniatures. We held the entire collection in our hands for the first time ever! 35 figures make for an impressive set when you lay them out!
The Kickstarter Exclusive Minotaur mini
The mountain troll: scary as ever!
The process of miniature production is a steep curve in terms of effort. The minis require a fair amount preparation before they can be produced on scale. The first step is producing the initial copies with 3D printers: those so called masters serve for creating the mold beds. Sometimes, after a 3D print, we may catch issues that would break the plastic injection. In those cases the problematic miniature gets a fix and a reprint. We're passed this stage with all minis approved. Currently, the team is focused on getting the molds ready. We are also starting the color tests: Boardquest figures use 5 colors, all of them custom mixes that take some trial and error before we get them right. Once the molds and the plastic mixes are in place, this is when mass production can start. As communicated before, we are looking at mid/end September for this work to be completed.
Game Manufacturing Updates
In other news, we have decided to keep the game production in house: Boardquest will be manufactured entirely in Spain, with AGRpriority joining as the game production and fulfilment partner. The benefit of keeping everything in the country is huge in terms of freight times. The fulfilment center is next door to the manufacturer: instead of sending the boxes across Europe to then ship them to our international customers, we send them directly the next day once they are packed. The US/Canada clients are unaffected by this change, as Friendly Shipping is still in place. The contract is already signed and the AGR print is reviewing the files for print at the time of this writing.
Delivery Updates
There are some minor delays, too. We we went back to the drawing board to redesign the mini box to ensure that the minis stay intact during international travel. We are considering 3 alternatives that meet our requirements and fit within our budget: currently, we are awaiting the designs from our providers. While this is good news for the players as you will be getting a better product, it impacts the production times. Until we get this locked in, we cannot proceed with the print: the mini box dimensions dictate the size of the main game box and the insert. We're also hitting the holiday period in Spain, which will most likely push the game manufacturing to start in September. Typically, it takes up to 8 weeks to get the order done. With this updated planning, it will get us until November before we can start shipping the games. This is pretty good as our aim has always been to get them out to you before December, so we don't hit the heavy shipping period and you get a nice treat for Christmas!
More photos and production updates in August!
Have a lovely summer!
Iwona & Behsaad
Translations and Production Update
3 months ago
– Sat, Jun 29, 2024 at 01:48:54 AM
Hi folks, we've just reached an enormous milestone: we're starting the production.
The miniature production is already underway and we're expecting the minis to be ready for shipping to the game assembly point in September. We have also accepted the game manufacturing offer and are expecting an unprinted prototype to arrive next week. It's a necessary step to ensure everything fits in the box just fine. Simultaneously, we are kicking off the process of file preparation for print. The elements themselves (cards, boards, maps, tokens, etc.) are ready so the outstanding task is to prepare the master sheets with cutlines for the plotter. Once the files are greenlighted, the print takes about 5 weeks, which should bring us to a similar estimated completion date as the miniatures. After that it's just the assembly and fulfilment!
In other news, we've finished the final rounds of review of our Rulebook and Storybooks in all 3 languages. We're very thankful to Diana (responsible for the game elements and the rulebook) and Maite (responsible for the storybooks) for their incredible work on conveying our vision into Spanish.
In case any of those links stop working in the future, make sure to consult our website for the latest collateral.
We're very proud of what we've achieved: this moment is a culmination of years of work and some very intense last few months to get the game to a production ready state. Big thanks to all our collaborators for always giving their best and to this community for funding our dream.
Behsaad & Iwona
Minis, Translations, and More!
4 months ago
– Wed, May 22, 2024 at 03:50:46 AM
Hi folks, it's been only 3 weeks since we last posted and it's incredible how much has been accomplished during that period of time. The miniature set is complete, the translations are ready, the video game is feature complete. Everything is on track for your game copies to arrive in October / November this year.
Read on for a full summary of what we've been up to in May.
Boom, done! Miniature Set
Starting with the hottest topic: our miniature set is ready for production! We have received the outstanding minis from Franco (Skeleton Knight) and Pedro (Deer Elf); following that, Pedro has done a thorough review of all 26 models and implemented adjustments as needed.
Luis will be taking it from here: the next step involves 3D printing the master copies for creating the molds. If no problems requiring design changes come up during the 3D print then the minis will go straight into batch production.
Ready for battle! All factions and monsters are locked in for print.
Boom, done! German and Spanish Translations
Very exciting news for all our Spanish- and German-speaking backers: the translations of all game elements, the rulebook, and the storybooks are ready! Having the text translated is of course only a part of a bigger picture: it also needs to be adapted for print, which at times requires small adjustments to the designs themselves. There is some great progress on that end as well: Iwona has already completed the German adaptation! She'll be working on the Spanish version next – it should be ready in time for our June update.
This is a massive milestone for us: the video game is feature complete. Everything we promised is there now: a single player campaign; multiplayer; the tutorial. The final updates delivered this month were the map creation and the undo last move button. There's still some polishing to do but we are hoping to be able to release an Early Access version after the summer break – and yes, all of you video game backers are getting it!
Players are now able to create their own map setups
Visual Updates
There's been a bunch of important visual updates that we've implemented over the last month: most importantly, the Progress Track was completely redesigned, the box got a retouch, and the final page of the Rulebook has been converted to Player's Aid. Some of these were on our list for a while and some we have decided to update based on your feedback.
The Progress Board went through a couple of iterations. It's been renamed from Leveling Track to better describe its function in the game, which is tracking your Hero’s XP and Income. We also needed to bump its size a bit and resize the cutouts for the 8mm cube to fit comfortably. Level 5 is now marked on the board; it’s the final possible position you can advance your Hero to. We’re pretty much in love with the final result and hope so are you!
New Progress Boards. Print by Azao Games
Our designers from bRIDA Studio have reworked the box art to better integrate the 4 heroes of Boardquest. It's no easy task as these are all strong personalities that don't necessarily click together ;-) The designers have also hand-made all 3 game titles: along the existing Boardquest: Tales of Liria, we now have Boardquest: Relatos de Liria and Boardquest: Geschichten von Liria.
New box art
At last, by not least – prompted by one of our backers (thanks, Will!) – we decided to incorporate a full page Player's Aid on the back of the rulebook. There's a mini section on the Setup, a reminder on the Game Round and Winning & Losing Conditions, plus an overview of all Map symbols and Status Effects. It's the essence of the game on a single page.
Player's Aid – a better use of the last page of the Rulebook
Online Tournament
Last Sunday, 7 talented commanders faced each other in an online tournament to find out who's the best strategist among them. That title went to Kai who, leading Humans to victory, brought absolute mayhem on all his opponents. Congratulations to everyone that took part!
Tournaments are very gratifying for us, too: it's amazing to see how a real community of a few dozens of players has grown around Boardquest. Rest assured, more tournaments are to be expected in the future: get in touch if you're keen to get on the waitlist for the next one!
BackerKit: last 10 days!
For those of you – the majority – who have already provided their shipping details: thank you and going forward if there is an address update write to us and we'll figure it out.
For those of you who are still on the fence as to whether get a game copy: we hope you do! We are planning to print more games in the future and there's some stock surplus from the KS print available for purchase but note these copies are already priced higher, so this is your last chance of getting the game at the KS price.
It's been a busy, busy May. We are almost there, folks: the game is getting printed this summer. We are hoping to lock the files and minis for print in the next 3 weeks: after that the game will be handed over to our printing partners and later, the fulfilment magicians. We reserved a generous period of 3 months to get the print done, accommodating for potential design adjustments or hitting a printing slog, and just keeping in mind that in the summer everything in Europe goes half the usual speed as most people are away on vacation. We'll be back with another update once everything has been submitted for print so we can celebrate together!
Iwona & Behsaad
New Miniatures, Translations, and Video Game progress
5 months ago
– Tue, Apr 30, 2024 at 06:43:54 AM
Hi folks, we're back with a bunch of exiting updates! We have reached one of the most anticipated milestones – drum roll – the arrival of new miniatures! Elves, Demons and new Monsters are now ready to pursue their claim to Liria. Besides, there have been lots of progress with translations and the video game implementation. And for all our solo players: the Scourge of Liria campaign is now OUT!
Daria Nightshade, the Elven hero, got a retouch (sculpt by Pedro Gutierrez Garcia):
She is joined by the Elven Huntress (sculpt by Fran Garcia Ponce):
The Elven Druid is ready to provide reinforcements (sculpt by Pedro Gutierrez Garcia):
Raegar's entire Demon family (Demon Beast, Dark Mistress, Bloodsucker) has been summoned from their dimension (sculpts by Daniel Fernandez Truchaud):
Now a word of warning! The following isn't the kind of content for the faint of heart... new monsters have arrived in Liria, too.
Lizard Warrior (sculpt by Franco Solimano):
Maurus, the Goblin Fighter (sculpt by Franco Solimano):
Ice Turtle & Stone Beast (sculpts by Juegorama):
We are very happy with the miniatures: our sculptors have shown ingenuity while working around limitations we imposed, such as producing the minis in one piece and making them apt for injection molding. These affect how thick the finest elements can be as well as the figure's pose. The idea is that you (the player) do not need to do any miniature assembly – other than gluing the wings, we cannot get around this one – and can start playing as soon as you open your Boardquest copy.
What's left to do? The Deer Elf and the Skeleton Knight are expected in May, along with a general review and harmonization of the set. Once approved, we will be 3D printing the miniature masters. These will be used to produce the master mold frames.
Scourge of Liria Storybook
The community-requested second storybook, Scourge of Liria is now available online! Scourge of Liria tells the origin story from the Demons' perspective. No faction in Boardquest is simply good or evil, and with the new storybook we hope to have captured that nuance. The Demons have been summoned to the new land against their will – is it completely unreasonable to assume they will do everything they can to survive?
The storybook is dedicated for solo players but may be played co-operatively. You can read it here:
Everything is going great on the translation front. The Rulebook has been translated to German and is currently undergoing the final round of review. The Spanish version is also well underway. Once we get the texts we need to adapt them for print, which adds up to around a week of work per language. We are expecting to be able to release all translated Rulebooks by the end of May. We also got started with translating the Storybooks: we are expecting their release early June.
Video Game
All Mods have been implemented and tested in the video game. This helped us sift through all proposals and keep only the ones that worked smoothly with our system. Testing the Mods was a great exercise and resulted in minor updates to the main game. In one example, the Dark Mistress can now possess all characters – including heroes! – that are of level equal or lower than her.
The network code has been further improved and is release ready. Multiplayer is one of the key features of the video game so this is one of those invisible but majorly important milestones.
Behsaad is now focusing on implementing the map piece placement. It's a critical update that will bridge the gap between the video and board game versions. As a video game player you will get the option of automatically generating the map if you're not too fussed about making your own, or – if you are an advanced player – you will be able to choose to create one manually.
Other Updates & Next Steps
Our backer-only video game tournament is now fully booked! If you would like to join in as an observer, send us a message via Kickstarter or email [email protected]. There will be 8 players total. The tournament will take place on the May 19th, 8PM CEST / 2 PM EDT / 11 AM PDT.
In the meantime we hosted an in-person tournament in Malaga, Spain, where we are based. Beside being great fun it gave us a chance to test the new Skill Card layout (we consider it green lighted!).
The Orcs (Martin) on their way to challenge the Elves (Axel)
Updated Skill Card layout
Iwona sporting the Boardquest: Tales of Liria unreleased swag
May is looking rather busy as, on top of the translation & adaptation work and video game development, we will be finalizing all game elements that still need rework, i.e. the Leveling Track, now renamed to Progress Board; the core game and miniature boxes. Everything is going as planned so far and we are on track to have the physical game assets locked in for production early June.
Folks, remember that the Pledge Manager is only open until June 1st: we need your details until then to streamline the shipment process. Let us know if you have not received a link from Backerkit or you need our support with filling out the survey.
Expect another update mid-May!
Cheers,
Behsaad & Iwona
Big review of the rulebook, online tournament announcement and more!
5 months ago
– Wed, Apr 10, 2024 at 04:28:30 AM
Hey folks, we're elated to share with you the latest updates of the project. Everything is progressing smoothly and we hope you're as hyped for the release as we are!
Rulebook and Storybook Review
Our rulebook and the first storybook, Defenders of Liria have gone through a visual and structural review. You can access them here:
The rulebook has been heavily enriched with tips and examples. You will find there sample game setups, example fort placement, and a visual guide of battle mechanics. We have brought the Solo Rules to the main rulebook, too: this allows us to keep all rules in one place for easy reference, and have the scenarios covered separately in their corresponding storybooks without repeating the introduction each time. All board game backers get their – well earned! – honorable mentions in the Special Thanks section. We will have the credits updated as per your preferred name indicated in the Backerkit survey once all responses are in (est. June 1st).
The Scourge of Liria campaign, as the latest addition the the game, has now been playtested and submitted for editing. It should be out by the end of April.
The books have been submitted for Spanish and German translations. We are only expecting minor updates to the text at this point (do let us know if you see a need for any potential improvements or clarifications). We're expecting the translated documents to be available by the end of May. The translation to German is handled by Behsaad personally (originally from Berlin!), so it's an opportunity for a final review round of the rules.
Game Elements Review
Most game elements – i.e. maps, boards, cards, and tokens – will be printed exactly as we presented them during the campaign. We have been keeping a small list of elements to revisit though, starting with the Skill Cards.
Revised Skill Cards
We adjusted the way the bonus information is displayed on the card and decided that the text must carry all information. There is a helper section that describes who the skill can be casted on, and who the skill belongs to. The latter may not seem too useful just now but once more heroes are added to each faction – additional heroes are planned for the future game expansions – there will be a need to clearly distinguish the skill owner.
These have already been test printed by Azao Games and are on their way from their press to our studio in Malaga. The TTS game version will be updated in the due course.
Video Game Tournament
All video game backers, save the date! Or better yet, sign-up now: our backer-only online tournament will take place on the May 19th, 8PM CEST / 2 PM EDT / 11 AM PDT. Use our Sign Up Page to claim your spot, or shoot us an email to [email protected]. All contestants will receive a preview multiplayer version of the game. The tournament winner will be awarded a Steam voucher and climb the ladder.
Video Game – Mods Implementation
The first mods are making it to the video game: starting with Clone Wars! Clone Wars allow you to recruit multiples of the same Unit type. Mods allow you to spice up the base rules and bend the Boardquest system to play the stories you imagined. You will be able to select multiple mods before starting a game.
Future Steps
Beside prepping the documents and translations, other work streams are also in motion: miniature development, other game elements & box visual and functional review, and the video game development. In the next update, we are hoping to share with you the first post-Kickstarter miniatures and the Scourge of Liria storybook. Stay tuned and thank you for your ongoing encouragement!
